Chapter 1
chapter
one
MAREN
Present day…
It’s been a while, but the path is so familiar that I could find my way to the bleachers with my eyes closed.
“Excuse me.” I narrowly miss a couple of toddlers who cut across the walkway, playing tag. A woman apologizes to me, then hisses at the kids to behave. I offer a sympathetic smile and continue up the ramp.
I deeply inhale, and I’m hit with arrows of nostalgia square in my tight chest.
The usual crickets’ songs are muffled by the blast of a tuba, a staccato of drums, and the echoing chatter of Friday night football fans.
The fresh scents of mowed grass and blooming flowers are overpowered by salty smells of popcorn, tangy barbecue, and the faint notes of burning wood.
Fall is officially here.
Even though I still live in town, I rarely come to this stadium anymore. But I couldn’t miss the homecoming game tonight, a longstanding Sapphire Creek tradition.
I mean, I could have missed it. In fact, I would’ve preferred to stay home in a fluffy pajama set and watch reruns of Holiday Baking Championship, but Addie insisted I come out for the sake of girls’ night.
She knows as well as I do how badly I need a girls’ night.
Between running a business, owning an old home that always requires a repair, and being too exhausted to even blink some days, it’s hard to get out anymore.
Plus, Caroline is visiting from New York for the first time in ten years. Addie is miraculously pausing her overworked brain to enjoy the game without planning or scheduling anything. The three of us haven’t hung out together in eons, and I’m wildly excited to do so tonight.
Until I turn my head and spot him.
I once read that a geyser erupts when water in its plumbing system is heated to the right temperature by nearby hot rocks. It triggers the explosion of water from the ground to relieve the rising pressure in a brilliant display of a natural phenomenon.
Nathan McAllister is my trigger.
Heat floods my veins, and the pressure builds in the backs of my eyelids every time he’s around.
Which, fortunately for me, is not often.
The last time he was in Sapphire Creek was two years ago. He’s graced us with his overwhelming presence now because our high school reunion is tomorrow night.
I shift on the bleachers, the previously cold, hard aluminum now feeling like it’s burning my ass as I become even more painfully nostalgic.
This is where I always used to sit when Nate was on the field.
During all his years on the football team, I sat in this very spot and cheered for him. After every game, he’d hustle toward me like he hadn’t just run his heart out. He’d slip his arms through the railing and pull me in for a heated kiss.
We were so in love.
The head-over-heels, heart-eyed kind of love that made my head spin. The kind of love that altered my entire nervous system.
Until he moved across the country, broke up with me, married someone else, and became a father, all before we turned twenty.
Promises were shattered. Dreams went up in flames. Hearts crumbled into pieces—mine did, anyway.
Nathan McAllister fucking ruined me.
Now, he’s returned to our hometown for the weekend as a divorced single dad, looking better than ever with his styled hair, dimpled grin, and lean build. A late-night peek at his social media page after half a bottle of wine revealed a few tattoos inked on his skin too.
He meanders through the crowd, his eyes sparkling as he shakes hands with familiar figures like a celebrity. He looks every bit the hotshot travel photographer he’s become, in his sleek leather jacket and dark jeans stretched over muscled thighs.
Nate followed through with his dream, while I cast aside my desire to be a writer.
Given everything life was throwing at me, it was the most practical thing to do.
The only words I ever put on paper were for a six-piece Charmed fanfiction story eight years ago.
No one knows about it but me and the old laptop I used to write it.
It’s currently tucked inside my closet collecting dust.
Instead, I opened a coffee truck. It’s a passion I discovered long after Nate left, and it’s one of the few things in my adult life that I’m wholeheartedly proud of.
I shift in my seat again, and my palms sweat the closer Nate gets to the bleachers.
Why did I have to sit here, of all places?
I didn’t even think about what I was doing when I plopped down. It was too natural, like my body didn’t notice the countless other open spots. It’s like I was drawn right back here by the intricate map of our history.
Where the hell are Addie and Caroline? It’d be nice to have some backup.
I check my phone for any missed calls or texts, but I don’t have anything from either of my so-called friends.
So, I guess I’ll be facing him alone. I’m perfectly capable of doing so too.
I square my shoulders and take a deep breath, ready to get this over with before our encounter has even begun.
As Nate saunters up the ramp, his mother and daughter join him, walking on either side of him with their hands full of popcorn and hot dogs. I’ve never officially met his little girl, but since my house is right next to his parents’, I’ve seen her around over the years.
Plus, she’s plastered all over Nate’s social media.
“Maren!” Nate’s mother, Evie, gives me a squeeze, and a few kernels of popcorn sprinkle down my back.
My friends might not be here, but having Evie offers at least a little relief.
With my greeting still hanging between us, she turns toward the little girl and waves her closer. “Honey, meet someone very special. This is Maren. She owns the coffee truck by the park.”
“The pretty purple one?” Sparkling brown eyes that match her father’s land on me with awe.
“That’s the one.” I smile. “Purple is my favorite color. What about you?”
“I love purple too. It’s the color of the new backpack Daddy got me. He let me pick it out and everything.”
My smile falters when I feel Nate’s eyes on me.
“My name’s Teagan.” The girl sways from side to side, and her short hair dances in the soft breeze.
Evie places a loving hand on my shoulder and tells Teagan, “Did you know Maren and your father were very close once upon a time?”
“How close?”
“Let’s put it this way—they spent every day together.”
My thick swallow doesn’t go down easily, and my skin burns as if everyone in this stadium is staring at me. As if I’m Old Faithful, and they’re just waiting for me to explode.
So much for Evie being a good buffer.
“We saved a turtle once,” he says in a low, gravelly voice.
I blink, a fire from the past burning me from the inside out. Pressure continues building in my whacked-out nervous system to the point of pain.
They’re the first words Nathan McAllister has spoken to me in two years.
On top of that, he brings up a memory from ancient history like he thinks about it—and me—frequently.
But I know better.
“We saved a baby turtle crossing the street,” he explains as he stands on Teagan’s other side. He’s close enough for me to smell his spicy cologne over the buttery popcorn, and my hands itch to wrap around him.
There was a time when I’d rush to him for a hug without question—one of many things the last ten years have changed for us.
“Maren was afraid at first,” Nate continues. “But she really wanted to stop it from getting hurt by a car. Being such a strong man at the ripe age of seven, I lent a hand.” He winks at me, and oh, God—what was that? Did my ovaries just tremble?
“If you’re so strong, why didn’t you help me kill that spider this morning?” Evie snorts, breaking the spell I’d succumbed to. The woman is my hero.
I cross my arms, shielding myself against the rising chill of the evening—and the confusing effects of Nathan McAllister. “Since when are you afraid of spiders?”
“Since my arm nearly rotted off after a brown recluse bite last year.” He pins me under a pointed stare, and to avoid drowning in his deep brown eyes, I force my gaze away.
“What’s a recluse?” Teagan slips her fingers around Nate’s thumb. His hand is so large compared to hers. So firm and protective.
My heart melts.
“A brown recluse is a scary spider, but it’s not something you have to worry about. Not with me around,” he reassures her, and the little girl’s shoulders relax a fraction.
“Because you’re strong,” she says with a wide grin. Two teeth are missing, one on either side of her front ones, and it makes her that much more adorable.
“Exactly.” His eyes zero in on mine, and this time, I don’t look away fast enough.
For a moment, time stops. I’m swept under his spell again, and memories of the last time he and I were here, just the two of us, flit through my mind.
Lying on the bleachers and kissing under the stars.
Fantasizing about a life together.
Loving each other.
“You look great, Maren.” One side of his mouth hitches into a shy smile, and a dimple pops in his cheek. It makes him look so young, like the boy I used to know.
I open my mouth to thank him for the unnecessary compliment, but Addie’s voice cuts through our foursome.
Finally.
“Good evening, McAllister family.” She leans in for a quick one-armed hug with Evie.
“Nate, up here!” someone calls from behind us, steering my ex’s attention away from me.
The disruption comes at the best time. I could’ve combusted under Nate’s unyielding attention had he stared at me any longer.
“It’s good to see you.” Nate nods toward me, then flicks his gaze to Addie and adds, “Both of you.”
“Teagan and I will stop by for some drinks and cookies in the morning.” Evie pats my forearm, then follows her son and granddaughter up the steps.
Addie plops onto the bleachers with a huff and yanks me down with her. The announcer’s voice blasts through the speakers, welcoming us to this year’s homecoming game. A trio of trumpets screeches to life from the other end of the stadium, and the band kicks off the game with our fight song.